Agreed.

@GDCarrington = TTT

Thursday focus shave 7.
Back to the Rasurpur Kamisori today, 3 passes pretty smooth but 1 weeper and some irritation. I did a 4th pass with a DE for BBS. A little more irritation today than the past two days so either I am using to much pressure or I need to hit the pastes or both. I am not sure if I can get another shave in before I leave for vacation, this might be the last SR shave for 11 days.

Proraso Pre Shave
Razorock Mudder Focker soap
Thater 2 band silver tip brush
Rasurpur western grind kamisori
Dry Gulch strop
Alum block to keep my fingers dry
Spieck AS
L'Occitane Cade ASB
Creed MI

I have both the Fine L'Orange and Platinum.

Phoenix Dbl OC Focus Day 8:

Homemade PS Oil
Simpsons Commodore X3 Best Badger
Stirling Glacial Spearmint
Phoenix Dbl OC
Stirling Unscented PSB
TOBS Sandalwood AS

Another good shave with this razor. It really is effortless for me. Smooth and easy.

Great shave today. 3 passes and very smooth.

30 day rule
MDC Lavender Face Lathered
Ladas blade
Slim Adjustable set to 7

07/09/2015
Razor – Mongoose B2 with Jürgen Hempel Ti
Blade – Feather Pro (2)
Brush – Rudy Vey with TGN Finest
Lather – MdC Fougere
Post - Witch Hazel and Fine Platinum



Another great near BBS shave this morning. It seems that the summer heat wave has started much earlier this year. The Fine AS helped cool things down.

July 9, 2015

30-Day Focus - Blade Trials for Gillette Tech

One week trial for each brand:
Personna Red, Derby Green, Gillette Silver Blue, Voskhod

Hot Shower
Pre-Shave Oil: Gingers Garden
Soap: Catie's Bubbles Mile High Menthol
Brush: Omega Pro 48
Razor: Gillette Tech “Fat Handle”
Blade: Derby Green (1)
RazoRock Alum
After Shave: Myrsol Agua Di Limon



Well there’s other fish in the sea….

I dropped any further testing of the Reds and I’m off to a different color - Derby Green.

2-pass (WTG,ATG) decent shave. Really tried to minimize repeat strokes.

When I shave, I’m looking for a comfortable, clean shave. I’m not chasing BBS, at least not in these months of focusing on technique and blades. I need to remind myself of that, because my idea of a clean shave is to not feel any remnants of stubble after the shave. So after the last pass, I’ll feel the skin and use touch ups wherever I feel a rough spot, and on my usual trouble spot (jawline). I’m going through the blade trials looking for brands that provide the cleanest, smoothest shave prior to the touch ups.

Thanks gents for any insight along this idea.

Cheers!
- RT

Ekke Ekke Ekke Ekke Ptangya Zoooooooom Boing Ni!

July 9

MdC facial soap
G-3 Gillette Fat Boy
Feather blade (day 3)
Omega Pro 98 boar brush
Arko
Two passes plus touch-ups
Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm

This is the second day using the FB on 5, and I can easily tell the difference between 3 and 5. I'll stay here for a few days and then continue moving it up the aggressiveness scale. I switched to Arko as my shave soap today, loading my boar brush off the puck and then doing a face lather. My Omega brush and the Arko soap produce a fantastic lather, and I had the best shave yet with my vintage Gillette. I plan to stick with this set up for awhile and continue to become familiar with the FB. It's a fun razor to use! I think I'll save my Slim for the August focus.

The rain cleared out this afternoon, and we are enjoying a nice, sunny evening. To make it even better, I had dinner with the three most important ladies in my life - my Bride, my mom, and my sister. I hope you all are having a great week too.

Out in Denver tonight... Will post late. Used Rapira SS today... It was great!

Thanks! I'm going to try the Silver Blue again after the Astra. So far, I like 3 of the 4 blades I've used: the Shark Super Stainless, the Astra Superior Platinum, and the Gillette Silver Blue. At this point I'm not sure how valid my blade evaluations are. I'm still pretty new at this and my technique is still changing (hopefully for the better). I've been blessed with a lot of good advice and a good bit of beginners luck. I'm thinking it will take me a while to really settle on my favorite blades. But I have some new ones on the way to try (including the Voskhod) so I'm planning on enjoying the journey.

1956 Gillette Super Speed Flair
Vulfix Super Badger (660)
Georgetown G12 Scuttle
Proraso Sandalwood cream
Aqua Velva
Current Blade under review: Astra Superior Platinum

Shave #2 with 2nd Astra Superior Platinum blade. Excellent BBS results, a great shave. Extremely close, smooth, no nicks, weepers, irritation or razor burn.
2 Full passes: Pass 1: WTG on my face (N/S), and XTG on my neck (N/S). Pass 2: ATG using my grain map. At this point, I could have ended the shave with a near BBS.
Lathered up again for touch up. I used some stretching and blade buffing in an attempt to get the last few hairs from just below my jawline. It seemed to take a little more effort and a few more passes over my tough spots to deal with them this time. At one point I thought if I'd had a sharper blade I would have irritated my skin, but there wasn't much of a sting when I used the Aqua Velva, so I may have been mistaken.

Another fine shave from the Astra Superior Platinum!

Friday focus shave 8.

I was able to squeeze one more straight razor shave in before vacation. Not much time this morning so I did 2 passes with my 'ugly dog' straight and the 2 passes with a DE. DFS and jut light irritation. My razor from Whipped Dog is ugly but it does have a great edge and shaves great. It will 10 or 11 days before I can shave with a straight.

Proraso Pre Shave
Caste Forbes Lime and AoS tallow super lather
Simpson Polo 8 Super
Ugly Whipped Dog straight
Dry Gulch strop
Alum block to keep my fingers dry
Spieck AS
Muehle ASB
Creed Aventus

Friday, July 10, 2015

Mongoose Shave #12
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Another two pass close to BBS shave today. The Mongoose is an impressive razor. It reminds me of the big lawn mowers that cut large fields of grass. The Goose cuts a large swath of whiskers efficiently with each stroke. The addition of the shorter Titanium handle allowed for better maneuverability and grip. Doug Korn’s Orange Swirl two-band badger is an outstanding face lathering brush. I hope you all had a wonderful shave today. Have a frosty weekend my friends.

Shower, Stirling Clubman Smooth, Neutrogena Face Scrub
B-3 Mongoose with UFO Godzilla Red Bronze
Feather Professional #5
Doug Korn Orange Swirl Banded Badger
MDC Le Bol En Bois – Fougere
Alum Block, Dickinson’s +Menthol, Unrefined Shea Butter
Myrsol Aqua Balsamica

​

30 Day Rule - July 2015
July 9th
Razor - CJB/Gillette New LC
Blade - (6) (3 2/3)
Brush - Omega Pro 48
Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Post - Cold Water splash, Alum, Nivea Original Post Shave Balm

Back to the CJB today and it was a good morning. First pass was with the CJB and Feather Pro and I kept the grip loose and the pressure close to non-existent. Very nice first pass, no blood or other problems. Did the second pass with the Gillette New LC and Voskhod and ended it with a DFS so let the third pass go for the day. I was a bit short on time so was happy to get DFS on two. Same routine tomorrow but with time for two CJB passes to try for DFS with it on two. Feel like it's coming back to me better now. Still having the most issues when I go to the left side with the right hand. 22 more days to get this thing DOWN! That's six shaves with the Feather Pro but not full 3 pass shaves so I'll stick with it for awhile yet. If I'm having problems it isn't because the blade is dull!

​

Nominee: Best Handle July 2015

In general, as a new shaver gains experience, a wider range of blades will yield good results. I am actually hesitant to speak critically of or disparage a blade. The reason for this is twofold, I don't wanna make someone miss a potential fave, and many of my opinions were formed when I was brand new and had iffy technique. Now, 364 days after shaving for the first time in years, I can get a decent shave from almost any blade. This will likely be your experience too. When I say GSB is a fave, to me that simply means it's a AAA blade. With consistently good and replicable results. Astra SP is a forum fave, and at its low price point, I wish it were mine. I haven't tried one in ages but tuck or two resides in my blade stash. It may be time to revisit.

Sharper is usually better. Sharp and smooth is ideal. IMHO, lather quality, angle of attack, and pressure are the three factors in causing or preventing razor burn.

Day 9 - 9 July 2015

30 Days of Maggard and MITA!



Late post, long day, good shave!

Have a Happy Friday!
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I stretch the skin of the jawline upward toward the cheekbone and taut, turning a corner bend into a flat surface. Although, this may not be your issue.

Did you perceive the Derby as dull or experiencing tugging?